


First Kiss

by cyrene



Series: Zutara Week 2018 [1]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Arranged Marriage, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Azula deserves nice things too, F/M, Hakoda (Avatar) is a Good Parent, Iroh (Avatar) is a Good Uncle, Zutara Week 2018, reference to Ozai's A+ parenting, where the hell is aang?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-30
Updated: 2018-07-30
Packaged: 2019-06-18 14:26:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,134
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15487857
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cyrene/pseuds/cyrene
Summary: Fire Lord Iroh ended the war, and now the Fire Nation is trying to make amends. Sometimes you adults just need to get out of the way. The kids are all right.(Zutara Week 2018 -- Day 1 -- First Kiss)





	First Kiss

**Author's Note:**

> My husband is side-eyeing me for not working on [How to Lose Friends and Alienate People](https://archiveofourown.org/series/265927) but how could I pass up Zutara week?! Also I gave everyone last names (bc YOU'RE NOT SO SPECIAL, TOPH) and titles and stuff.

 

 

 

It was General Iroh, the Dragon of the West, master of the siege of Ba Sing Se, who ended the Fire Nation's Hundred Year War, but not before he lost his only child, his son Lu Ten, and his younger brother Ozai. This left the world in a new sort of chaos, one where no one was quite sure which way was up or down. The Fire Nation, you see, was sending formal apologies and trying to make amends for their wrongs.

 

They were both admitting to their atrocities, and attempting to correct them.

 

The world held its breath.

 

They held the summit at the North Pole. Nobody would have trusted it had it been held anywhere else, but in the North Pole both waterbenders and earthbenders would have the advantage over their hot tempered former enemies.

 

The Southern Water Trible, having always been less misogynist than their northern counterparts, sent their chief Hakoda and Hakoda's two children, his heir Sokka and his younger daughter Katara. This left his wife Kya to run the affairs of the tribe while they were away. Hakoda's mother, Kanna, perhaps sensing what was in store for her favorite granddaughter, insisted on accompanying them, and there was no one in the tribe who had the guts to contradict Gran-Gran when she got an idea into her head.

 

Katara, who had just turned ten by the time they set out on their voyage to the North Pole, practiced her waterbending from the deck with an unparalleled glee, pushing and pulling the water hard enough to make the ship go faster. The sailors, men she had known her whole life, who might have died or had to leave home for years, laughed and shouted directions and encouragement to her from their posts.

 

Finally, finally, she did not have to hide her powers! There was nothing to fear in this brave new world.

 

 

*

 

 

Prince Zuko sat on the floor in his room, looking at a portrait of himself. _Is that what I look like?_ The twelve-year-old prince, current heir to Fire Lord Iroh, shook his head and frowned. He looked so serious, so... boring.

 

The portrait had come with a long talk with Uncle. The first thing he said was that, to Zuko and Azula, his only title was Uncle. Then came a long talk about family, tradition, and duty. Then he told the siblings, with great regret, that they were going to have betrothal portraits taken. Part of making amends to the world for the Fire Nation's crimes against humanity was that Zuko and Azula be betrothed. He did not know to whom, yet, but that would hopefully all work out for the best, and he wished with all his heart that they would trust him to have their best interests at heart too, not just the Fire Nation's.

 

“Gross,” said Azula after they left. “He told us he _loves_ us.” Her face suggested that their Uncle had said something more like, “I like to kiss platypus-bears on the beak” rather than an expression of fondness.

 

“What's wrong with that?” Zuko asked.

 

“You're so _stupid_ , Zuzu. He's selling us off! We're the consolation prizes. At least you get to stay here, and be Fire Lord after Uncle is gone –”

 

“Uncle's not going anywhere,” Zuko interrupted in a panic, because he had not really thought of that yet.

 

Azula rolled her eyes and continued. “Meanwhile I, despite being much better suited for the job, will be sold off to the Earth Kingdom or one of the peasant water tribes. It's like giving a steak to a dog. What a waste.”

 

“What's a waste, dear?” Mom asked, having just walked in on their conversation.

 

“That I can't go to the summit with Uncle and Zuzu,” Azula replied sweetly.

 

Ursa smiled at her daughter, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. “I know, Azula, and I think that would be an excellent opportunity for you to travel the world. But Uncle and I think it's best you stay home for a while. Besides, you're going to meet that doctor I told you about!”

 

“But I'm not sick,” Azula pouted, crossing her arms.

 

“She's not that kind of doctor, sweetie.”

 

“What kind of doctor _is_ she?” Zuko asked.

 

Ursa's smile turned sad. “Well, Zuzu, she's the kind of doctor people see when something very sad happens. She helps them learn to cope with the sad thing, and get better in their minds.”

 

He could see Azula rolling her eyes behind Mom's back, but he couldn't understand why. It didn't seem like such a bad idea.

 

“Maybe we should all go with Azula,” he said, thoughtfully. “To help us all feel better.”

 

Mom cupped his cheek and her smile turned bright again. “What a lovely idea, Zuko.”

 

 

*

 

 

Katara looked around her in wonder. The Northern Water tribe was _huge_. It was like nothing she had ever seen before, all towering buildings and canals, and water, water, water thrumming all around her.

 

“You could be building us a big old city,” Sokka teased her, “but all you do is splash around.” So she splashed him, and he laughed and ran off. Katara chased him across the deck with a big glob of water, and she had almost caught him when –

 

“ _Children_!” Dad barked, appalled. Katara and Sokka stopped and looked at each other, wary of their father's unfamiliar harsh tone. “Please, please don't embarrass us in front of the other nations,” Dad begged. “They think we're a bunch of backwater suckers, and we need to show them otherwise. Stand tall; be dignified.”

 

Sokka and Katara stood tall and nodded solemnly. It was the least they could do for their father.

 

 

*

 

 

Zuko looked around him in wonder. The Northern Water tribe was so _small_. It was a strange place, full of canals instead of roads, and so very _white_. Zuko shivered and looked, dubiously, to his uncle for guidance.

 

“Everything will be okay,” Uncle said with a reassuring smile. “You know, the last time I was here, I played Pai Sho in the most excellent tea shop where they served...” And, like that, Uncle was off talking about tea, and meeting up with his old guy friends again, and stuff like that.

 

Zuko couldn't concentrate. He felt sick to his stomach, and not because of the water. He didn't want to be Fire Lord and rule over the Fire Nation, especially without Uncle to help him. He didn't want to marry some strange, foreign girl he didn't know. Azula's friends Mai and Tai Lee had teased him because he didn't even know about making babies, and when they explained it, he had been _so horrified_ that he couldn't even talk to Mom or Uncle about it, so he was just carrying this secret inside him, wondering if it was true or if they had just been messing with him like usual.

 

“Nephew,” Uncle said gently, putting his hand on Zuko's back.

 

Zuko took the hint and stood up straight, putting on the blank face he used to wear around Father and Grandfather.

 

“It's going to be okay,” Uncle promised.

 

Uncle kept his promises.

 

 

*

 

 

Gran-Gran took special care with Katara's hair for the summit, washing it too thoroughly and adding too many beads and blue threads for Katara's liking. She preferred it simple, braided back with little loops hanging down around her ears – in the traditional Water Tribe manner. This was... well, Gran-Gran had said it was still traditional, just more formal. Katara complained that she'd never even seen a bride with her hair up this fancy, let alone a ten-year-old girl, but Gran-Gran was determined that Katara would look her best. In the end, Gran-Gran always had her way.

 

The summit was boring. It was days and days of adults arguing over things that, to Katara, seemed petty and easily resolved if everyone were willing to remain flexible instead of worrying about coming out on top. The Fire Lord seemed tired, but kind, which was a strange thought to have about a firebender, especially their ruler. But he had said he wanted a new era of peace, and Katara thought that sounded very nice, so maybe he wasn't so bad after all. Katara didn't understand why everyone was having such a problem sharing and agreeing.

 

In the meantime, she tried not to sigh. She tried to sit up straight, not slouch. She tried to represent her tribe with the dignity and honor they deserved from their Chief's daughter.

 

 

*

 

 

Zuko was confined to his rooms when he was not with Uncle. Not because he had done anything wrong – Uncle was careful to stress this multiple times – but because the other nations would probably not appreciate firebenders wandering around the city unchecked. Zuko could understand, but that didn't stop him from being bored, or from missing his mother.

 

Hearing a shout outside his window, Zuko ran onto the back patio, hands at the ready just in case. But it was just a girl and boy, playing. Before he could duck back inside, they noticed him and stopped playing.

 

“You're a firebender,” the boy said, suspicious and angry in a way Uncle had warned him about, but Zuko had never seen in person before. He was realizing how protected he had been from the world, living in Caldera, when the girl elbowed the boy.

 

“Shut up, Sokka, that's the whole point of us being here. To talk with the Fire Nation.” He muttered something and she elbowed him again. “Sorry about my brother. He's –”

 

“ _Irniq_ Aukanek Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe, only son and heir of _Iluak_ Aukunek Hakoda and _Pikatti_ Kya.” Zuko bowed as he said this, the way one bows to someone of similar rank. Uncle had been very specific about this. “That must make you _Buniq_ Aukunek Katara.”

 

“Pretty sure I'm just Katara,” she laughed. “And you are?”

 

“ _Sōzokujin_ Shimizu Zuko, nephew of _Hi no kunshu_ Shimizu Iroh, first of his name.”

 

Princess Katara laughed again, and he liked the sound of it because it didn't sound like she was laughing _at_ him, but _with_ him, even though he wasn't laughing. “What's that when it's at home?” she asked.

 

Now it was the brother's turn to elbow the sister. “ _Nukka_ , that's _Prince Zuko_ , the Fire Lord's _nephew_. Future Lord of the Flames himself.”

 

Princess Katara's eyes widened. “Oh. Sorry, _Irniq_ Zuko,” she said, making a wobbly attempt at a curtsy, which probably would have had her laughed out of the Fire Nation. She straightened up and eyed him for a moment before adding, “Do you want to play? Sokka is legendary pirate Itigiak, and I'm Sedna of the Sea.”

 

Zuko, having literally no idea what she was talking about, shrugged shyly.

 

“You can be Kunwaktok...” she added in a sing song voice, and he got the feeling from her tone that this was her sweetening the deal.

 

“Can I be Avatar Roku?” he asked, still tentative. “He was my great-grandfather, on my mother's side.”

 

The Aukunek siblings looked at him with eyes like dinner plates. Then they looked at each other and nodded in unison. “Absolutely!” Prince Sokka held out his hand and they shook on it.

 

Prince Sokka pulled on Zuko's arm _hard_ , and Zuko fell to the ground.

 

“ _Fool_!” Prince Sokka growled in a boy's approximation of a man's voice. “I am the dread pirate Itigiak! You cannot trust me! I will defeat you, and kidnap Sedna of the Sea, and no one can stop me!” He held a staff aloft, shaking it as he roared.

 

He was being pulled again, this time in the opposite direction, and by Princess Katara. This was much rougher than he had been expecting, and he wondered that royal children were allowed to play like that. Then he looked up, and noticed that Princess Katara's eyes were very, _very_ blue, and for some reason that became important to him.

 

He leaped to his feet using an old firebending trick. “Don't worry,” he said to the Princess. “I'll save you from the pirate.”

 

They grasped hands and ran, over ice walls and under archways, across the canal, until they were out of breath from laughter and had found a decent place to hide.

 

“What now?” he asked her with a huge grin.

 

Her eyes sparkled with mischief. “Traditionally, we kiss.”

 

Something inside him panicked and he stood up quickly. “Wait, _Buniq_ Katara, time out!”

 

She stood up too, her brow quizzical. “You okay?” she asked, reaching out to touch his arm.

 

He didn't know how to explain himself. “It's just that... Uncle... he brought me here to be, you know, betrothed. And I've never kissed anyone before, but I don't think I should be kissing girls, especially not as a game, when I'm supposed to be... you know... for her. Whoever she is.”

 

Princess Katara said, “What about a kiss on the hand? That would satisfy both the game and your honor, right?”

 

Zuko breathed a sigh of relief and nodded, taking her hand in his and giving it a light peck.

 

“Come on,” she said, lacing her fingers through his again. “We have a pirate to defeat.” And together, they ran.

 

 

*

 

 

The summit was _boring_. Katara had literally no idea why she was there, other than to just sit there looking bored and elaborately made up, like a porcelain Earth Kingdom doll. Sokka was right next to her, and _Irniq_ Zuko – no, what was the right word? _So_... _sozu_... _ka_... something. Anyway, the prince was right across the room, and _Buniq_ Yue was there, and a couple of other kids, but they were all just sitting there like showpieces, doing nothing. Katara had never had experience as a showpiece, and she had never been very good at doing nothing.

 

She was trying very hard not to yawn, when she suddenly heard her name in that strange Fire Nation accent: “ _Buniq_ Katara.” It was the Fire Lord. He was saying _her_ name? Suddenly, Katara was all ears.

 

“Is this a joke?” Dad demanded angrily, and Katara wished she had been listening before, because she had _never_ seen Dad this angry before, not ever. “You sincerely expect me to send my only daughter into the Fire Nation, into the heart of our enemy of the last _hundred years_ , and just... what? Wave her off and say, 'Good luck, honey!'”

 

“It doesn't matter what they expect,” and even older, angrier voice retorted. “In the Southern Water Tribe, we do not sell off our daughters. Certainly not at ten years old.”

 

The Fire Lord said something in reply, the chief of the Northern Water Tribe was apparently insulted by Gran-Gran's insinuations, and then suddenly all the adults were arguing very loud and very fast. Katara was... well, she was annoyed.

 

So she stood up.

 

“I AM KATARA AUKUNEK OF THE SOUTHERN WATER TRIBE!” She shouted at the top of her lungs. When she was assured of the adults' silence, she stepped forward. “If you have business with me,” she said to the Fire Lord, “then please address _me_.”

 

She saw her father's face and, boy, was she in for it later. But the Fire Lord's eyes were lit with amusement and something like respect as he bowed to her. She attempted a curtsy in return, because that was how they did things where he was from and she wanted to be polite to make up for her shouting.

 

“ _Buniq_ Aukunek Katara,” the Fire Lord asked, “do you know who I am?”

 

“You are Iroh Shimizu, _Iluak_ of the Fire Nation. First of your name,” she added, because that part she remembered from _Irniq_ Zuko, and it had sounded cool.

 

“Just so,” he said with a smile that made Katara feel safer than she had just a moment ago. “This is my nephew –”

 

“ _Irniq_ Zuko Shimizu, whose great-grandfather on his mother's side was Avatar Roku. He helped me vanquish the dread pirate Itigiak yesterday.”

 

The Fire Lord raised an eyebrow. “Did he? From his rooms?”

 

“No, from the gardens just outside them,” she said, and saw _Irniq_ Zuko wince and shake his head ever so slightly.

 

“Well, I am glad that the two of you have met, either way. I understand, _Buniq_ Katara, that in the Water tribes, the age of betrothal is fourteen and the age of consent to marry is sixteen?”

 

“You understand wrong,” Katara said, wary of correcting an adult. “That is how they do things in the North. In the South, we can marry at sixteen, but we don't betroth our children. Why is that important?” she asked, and heard her father groan softly behind her.

 

“In the Fire Nation, we do betroth our children,” the Fire Lord explained patiently. “They may marry as young as sixteen, though eighteen to twenty is more common now. I was hoping that, as part of these peace negotiations, I might promise you the hand of my beloved nephew, Zuko, who will some day be Fire Lord.”

 

Katara laughed. “And you were so worried!” she said to _Irniq_ Zuko, remembering the day before when he would not kiss her. Katara thought about this. “I would have to be _Pikatti_ of the Fire Nation?” she asked.

 

“I'm afraid that is part of the deal,” the Fire Lord said.

 

“Katara...” her father said in his warning voice.

 

She turned to face her people. “It's my choice?” she asked, looking to Gran-Gran.

 

Gran-Gran nodded, though she looked sad for some reason.

 

“Yes, sweet daughter,” said Dad with a sigh. “It is your choice.”

 

Katara nodded, and turned back around. “Then it is also yours,” she said to _Irniq_ Zuko. She held out her hand; he stood and they met in the middle of the room. “I like you,” she said. “I've never been in love before, but I think I like you well enough now to love you later. So long as you will still save your first kiss for me,” she said with an impish grin.

 

“This could be much, _much_ worse,” he agreed.

 

They put their heads together for a few minutes, whispering back and forth while their parents and guardians, and all the most important people in the world watched on, incredulous.

 

“All right,” Katara said, finally. “We are in agreement. We will spend the spring and summer at the South Pole, and the autumn and winter in the Fire Nation, that way we may each learn what is expected of us and adjust to each other's way of life. When we are ready, and not a day before, we will marry. He will be your Fire Lord, and I will be your Fire Lady.

 

There was applause, some more heartfelt than others, but Katara didn't care. She knew the direction of her future now, and it was going to be an _adventure_.

 

 

 

 


End file.
